A reed-type wind instrument, such as a harmonica, reed organ, concertina, accordion, or the like, has a plurality of normally metallic reeds each having a mounting portion fixed on a support plate and a free end portion extending over and registering with a window formed in the support plate. Each such free end portion is constituted and dimensioned so that when a stream of air passes around the respective free end portion and through the respective window this free end portion vibrates at a particular frequency and thereby produces a particular respective musical note. The tone quality is determined by various factors, in particular by the orientation of the free end portion of the reed relative to its respective window and the mounting of the reed on the mounting plate.
Thus over the years various techniques have been developed for mounting the reeds on the mounting plate. As it is essential that the mounting portion be rigidly connected to the mounting plate, recourse has usually been had to the use of rivets which are capable of forming a virtually unitary connection that is not loosened by vibration. The fastening is therefore normally done by a highly qualified worker who meticulously positions each reed at the respective window, leaving a small gap of at most a few hundredths of a millimeter around each free end portion and the respective window. The rivet is then carefully positioned and upset, and afterward the item is normally examined and tested carefully to establish that each reed is properly mounted. Even the slightest deviation from a relatively narrow range of tolerances can often deleteriously affect the tone quality emitted, cause the generation of undesired harmonics, or otherwise make the particular instrument unsuitable for use.
For these reasons the production of a high-quality reed-type wind instrument normally makes this instrument very expensive. Only highly qualified and well-trained personnel can be used to mount the reeds in position, so that labor costs are elevated, in particular because each such reed instrument has a multiplicity of such reeds. The production cannot readily be turned over to a worker who has not been carefully trained.